Vehicle headlamp with anti-glare structure



United States Patent 3,366,821 VEHICLE HEADLAMI WITH ANTI-CLARE STRUCTURE Fred A. Kohl, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Glare Shield Corporation of Missouri, St. Louis, Mo., 2 corporation of Missouri Filed Nov. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 412,976 Claims. (Cl. 313-111) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLUSURE A tube extending from the lens of the lamp to in front of the light source to block the direct rays from the light source through the lens and to provide a diffused glow through the prismed lens as a result of the direct rays of the light source passing through the tube.

This invention relates generally to improvements in a vehicle headlamp, and more particularly to an improved means for eliminating glare from the direct rays of light.

It is well known that the direct rays of light from automobile headlamps create a glare that blinds persons on the road, and especially drivers of approaching automobiles. An important object is to screen the direct rays or beams of light from approaching vehicles or from the eye without interfering with the rays which do not glare or dazzle, without affecting the eflicient and effective illumination of the road ahead of the vehicle.

An important object is achieved by the provision of an element extending completely from the lens to in front of a concentrated light source such as a filament to block the direct rays from the light source through the lens, and yet enable passage of the light reflected from the reflector through the lens.

An important advantage is attained by having the shielding element translucent and colored to provide a diffused glow resulting from the direct rays of the light source striking the element. A structural arrangement of the shielding element makes this soft glow visible at any angle to the axis of the reflector.

Another important object is realized by the structural arrangement of a tubular element extending from the lens to a position in front of the light source, the tubular element having an open end at which the light source is located. In one embodiment, the tubular element has an opposite closed end constituting an integral part of the lens. In another embodiment, the closed end is located contiguous to the lens.

Still another important object is provided by constructing the tubular element of an opaque material having a multiplicity of lateral peripheral holes, and by coloring the interior of the tubular element with a colored means so that a diffused colored glow is emitted by the tubular element as a result of the direct rays of the light source striking the colored means and passing through the peripheral holes.

An important object is achieved by the location of the tubular element along the axis of the reflector and by the provision of an outer surface on the tubular element that extends substantially parallel to the reflector axis so as not to obstruct the reflected rays from the reflector through the lens.

Another important object is afforded by a glare-eliminating device in a headlamp which provides all of the aforementioned structural and functional advantages.

Yet another important object is to provide a headlamp that is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture and assemble, highly eflicient in operation, and which eliminates or provides a diffused colored glow from the direct rays of the concentarted light source.

3,366,821 Patented Jan. 30, 1968 The foregoing and numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will more clearly appear from the following detailed description of several embodiments, particularly when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical axial section of a vehicle headlamp;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the center portion of the lamp;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical axial section, similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating a modified construction, and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical axial section similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating still another modified construction.

Referring now by characters of reference to the drawings, and first to FIG. 1, it will be understood that the vehicle headlamp disclosed is a self-contained incandescent lamp of the sealed beam type such as described and claimed in US. Patent No. 2,148,314, issued Feb. 21, 1939.

The lamp includes a sealed bulb or envelope 10 consisting of a pressed glass reflector section 11 and a cover glass or light-modifying lens section 12 sealed together at their peripheries by fusion, as is indicated at 13. The inner surface 14 of the reflector section 11 is shaped to conform approximately to a paraboloid. The inner surface 14 of the reflector 11 is provided with a coating 15 of suitable light reflecting material, such as aluminum or silver, to thereby form a reflecting surface.

One or more concentrated light sources or filaments are mounted in the lamp envelope 10 in definite optical relation to the reflecting surface 15. In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a vehicle headlamp of the conventional two filament type is disclosed. In this vehicle headlamp, there is provided two separate filaments, i.e., an upper filament 16 and a lower filament 17, for selectively producing either a depressed or lower passing beam for use when passing vehicles traveling in the opposite direction, or upper driving beam for use in open country when no vehicles are approaching in the opposite direction. It will be understood, however, that the invention is applicable as well to single filament headlamps producing only one light beam such as, for instance, a depressed passing beam.

Each of the two filaments 16 and 17 is constructed of a linear coil of a suitable refractory metal such as tungsten. These filaments are spaced one above the other in the envelope 10 in horizontally extending parallel relation transversely of the reflector axis with the upper filament 16 located approximately at the focal point of the reflecting surface 15, and the lower filament 17 located a slight distance below the upper filament 16 and approximately at the same focal point of the reflecting surface 15.

The filaments 16 and 17 are electrically connected to, and are supported in place within the lamp envelope 10 by respective pairs of rigid lead-in conductors or wires 2021 and 2223 which extend through openings 18 in the wall of the reflector section 11 at the rear. The lead-in wires 20-21 and 22-23 are secured at their outermost ends, as by brazing, for instance, to respective metal thimbles or ferrules 24 having feathered edges embedded in and fusion-sealed to the exterior of the reflector section 11 around the openings. Metal contact or terminal lugs 25 are suitably secured, as by brazing, to the closed ends of the thimbles 24 for connecting the lamp to a suitable source of current supply.

The light-modifying lens 12 of the headlamp is provided with suitable light-refracting media, preferably on the inner side of the lens, for refracting the rays of light from the reflecting surface 15 so as to produce, upon J selective energization of the filaments 16 and 17, a de pressed or lower passing beam and an upper or driving beam respectiv ly, conforming to the specifications set therefor by the motor vehicle industry. The lens 12, can be of many different constructions. That construction described in detail below is but one.

The lens 12 can be divided into a series of horizontally extending sections 2-6 with a plurality of small vertically extending light-spreading flutes 27 disposed in side by side relation on the inside surface of the lens 12. Of course, the flutes 27 in each section 26 are of different degrees of spread in order to impart the required horizontal spread to the light beams projected by the lamp. in addition, certain portions of each of the lens sections 26 may be formed with either upwardly or downwardly lightbending prisms, and with left or right-bending prisms (not shown) to provide the required vertical and horizontal distribution of the light in the beams projected by the lamp.

The lamp envelope is exhausted and, if desired, filled with a suitable inert gas such as argon, nitrogen or mixtures thereof, through an exhaust tube 30 communicating with the interior of the envelope through an exhaust aperture 31 in the envelope wall at the apex of the reflector section 11. After exhaustion of the lamp envelope through the tube 30 and, if desired, introduction of the gas, the tube 30 is sealed or tipped-01f to seal the lamp envelope hermetically.

A tubular element 32 in the embodiment of FlG. l is formed integrally with the lens 12, the tubular element 32 being provided with an open end and a closed end 34- constituted by a portion of lens 12. The tubular elemeat 32 extends from the lens 12 substantially along the axis of the reflector surface 15 to a position in front of the filaments 16 and 17. The filaments 15 and 17 are located in and at the open end 33 of tubular element 32.

As is indicated by the shade lines in FIG. 1, the tubular element 32 including the closed end 34 is other than transparent, such as opaque or translucent, so as to block the direct rays from the filaments l6 and 1'7 through the lens 12.

Preferably, the tubular element 32 is translucent and colored so that the direct rays from the filaments 16 and 17, located at the open end 33, result in a diffused colored glow from the prismed lens 12 that eliminates or at least considerably reduces any glare or dazzle from the direct rays of the filaments 16 and 17 when the headlamp is viewed at any angle to the axis of the reflector.

It has been found that the tubular element 32 must extend completely from the lens 12 to the filaments 16 and 17, with the filaments 16 and 17 located at the open end 33 so that the direct rays can enter the tubular element 32. The tubular element 32 must be of sufficient length and be of suflicient diameter or peripheral dimension so to block the direct rays from the filaments 16 and 17 from direct emission through the lens 12, but is of a size so as not to obstruct to any noticeable extent the passage of the reflected rays from the reflector surface 15 through the lens 12. In order to minimize any obstruction of such reflected rays, the outer surface of the tubular element 32 is disposed substantially parallel to the axis of the reflector surface 15.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modified construction of the glareeliminating means. In this embodiment, the tubular element 32A is initially formed as a separate component part having an open end 33A and a closed end 34A. The closed end 34A is located contiguous to the inner surface of lens 12, and, in fact, in some instances can be actually fastened to the lens 12 as by a suitable adhesive. The tubular element 32A extends rearwardly from the lens 12 substantially along the axis of the refiector surface 15 to a position in front of the filaments 15 and 17, the filaments 1d and 17 being located in at the open end 33A. The tubular element 32A can be supported in place in the lamp envelope It by being clamped or otherwise secured to a rigid support wire 35 extending from and suitably secured, as by brazing, to one of the metal thimbles 24 of the lamp.

Again, it will be noted that the tubular element 32A is made large enough in diameter so as to intercept effectively all of the direct rays from the fiarnents 16 and 17 to the lens 12, yet is small enough so as not to interfere with the reflected rays from the reflector surface 15 through the lens 12. As mentioned previously, with respect to the embodiment of FlG. l, the tubular element 32A of FIG. 4 can also be made opaque or translucent for this purpose. As indicated by the general shading in FIG. l, the tubular element 32A is preferably made translucent and colored so that the direct rays from the filaments 11? and 17 will enter the tubular element 32A and strike the wall of such tubular element including the closed end 34A to provide a diffused and colored glow from the prismed lens 12 that is particularly perceptible when viewed at any angle to the axis of the reflector surface 15 so that any glare or dazzle that might otherwise exist or result from the direct rays of the filaments 16 and 17 is effectively eliminated or reduced to a minimum.

FIG. 5 illustrates still another embodiment of the invention. In this modification the tubuar element 323 is constructed of an opaque material such as metal and in cludes an open end 338 and a closed end 348. Again, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 4, the tubular element 328 of FIG. 5 is located with its closed end 348 located contiguous to the inner surface of lens 12 and, if desired, can be attached to the lens 12 by a suitable adhesive. A support wire 35 can be secured to the tubular element 321% to support the tubular element in the envelope ill.

The tubular element 323 extends from the lens 12 along the axis of the reflector surface 15 to a position just in front of the filaments it and 17, the filaments 16 and 17 being located in and at the open end 33. The tubular element 321% has the same dimensional requirements as discussed previously with respect to the embodiments of P163. 1 and 4 so as to block the direct rays from the filaments 16 and 1.7 through the lens 12, and so as not to obstruct to any noticeable extent the passage of the reflected rays from the reflector surface 15 through such lens 12.

The tubular element 325 of FIG. 5 is provided with a multiplicity of peripheral holes 36 communicating with the interior. Moreover, the interior of the tubular element 32B is provided with a colored coating 37, constituting a colored means, that is capable of reflecting light rays. The direct rays from the filaments 16 and 17 enter the tubular element 323, strike the colored coating 37, and thence are reflected or passed through the multiplicity of small peripheral holes 36 to provide a diffused and colored glow that is particularly visible when the headlamp is viewed at any angle to the axis of the reflector surface 15, in order to reduce the glare or dazzle that would otherwise exist or be caused by the direct rays of the filaments 1 5 and 17 through the lens 12.

When a vehicle having headlamps incorporating the glare-eliminating means described previously, is driven along a road at night, essentially all of the effective rays from the filaments 16 and 17 are thrown forwardly through the lens 12 by the reflector surface 15 onto the road ahead of the vehicle. To the driver of an approaching vehicle on the same road, viewing the headlamp at an angle to the axis of the reflector surface 15, the glare or dazzle that would otherwise be emitted directly from the filaments 16 and 17 throu h lens 12 is eliminated. The driver of the approaching vehicle would see a diffused and colored glow from the headlamps that provides a rather soft and even pleasing appearance without any objectionable glare. Of course, the light reflected from the headlamps themselves and that light which is projected on the road will be readily visible to the driver of the approaching vehicle for complete safety. The only thing that is eliminated is the dangerous and objectionable direct glare from the headlamps.

In fact, because this dangerous and objectionable glare is removed from the headlamps and, accordingly, a dangerous and hazardous condition is removed with respect to drivers of approaching vehicles, the foot candlepower of the headlamps could, if desired, be increased to a considerable extent so that more elfective light can be reflected by the headlamps onto the road ahead of the vehicle utilizing the headlamps, all without providing any objectionable glare to drivers of approaching vehicles. This action would further increase the safety factor in driving at night.

Although the invention'has been described by making detailed reference to several embodiments, such detail is to be understood in an instructive, rather than in any restrictive sense, many variants being possible within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lamp comprising:

(a) a reflector,

(b) a concentrated light source mounted in front of the reflector,

(c) a lens covering the reflector, and

(d) a tubular element including an open end and an opposite closed end,

(e) the closed end being located contiguous to the lens,

(f) the tubular element extending from the lens to in front of the light source,

(g) the light source being located at the open end of the tubular element,

(h) the tubular element being opaque and being provided with a multiplicity of peripheral holes,

(i) the interior of the tubular element being colored to provide a diffused colored glow from the periphery of the tubular element resulting from the direct rays of the light source striking the colored interior and reflecting through the peripheral holes.

2. A vehicle headlamp comprising:

(a) a concave reflector,

(b) a lens covering the mouth of the reflector,

(c) a filament located approximately at the focus of the reflector, and

(d) a tubular element having an open end and a closed end,

(e) the closed end being contiguous to the lens,

(f) the tubular element extending substantially along the axis of the reflector from the lens to in front of the filament,

(g) the filament being located at the open end of the tubular element.

(h) the tubular element being of an opaque material and being provided with a multiplicity of peripheral holes,

(i) the interior of the tubular element being colored to provide a dilfused colored glow from the tubular element resulting from the direct rays of the light source striking the colored interior and reflecting through the peripheral holes,

(j) the tubular element blocking the direct rays from the light source through the lens.

3. A lamp comprising:

(a) a reflector,

(b) a concentrated light source mounted in front of the reflector,

(c) a lens covering the reflector,

(d) a tubular element having an open end, the tubular element extending from the lens to in front of the light source, the light source being located at the open end of the tubular element,

(e) the tubular element is opaque and is provided with a plurality of peripheral holes,

(f) the tubular element is peripherally closed about the light source so that the tubular element blocks the direct rays from the light source through the lens, and

(g) colored means in the interior of the tubular element provides a diifused colored glow from the tubular element resulting from the direct rays of the light source striking the colored means and passing through the peripheral holes.

4. A glare-eliminating device in a headlamp for blocking direct rays from a filament through a lens, comprising:

(a) an opaque, tubular elements provided with side openings, the tubular element having an open end adapted to be located in front of the filament, and the tubular element extending to the lens, and

(b) colored means in the interior of the tubular element adapted to provide a diffused colored glow resulting from the direct rays of the filament striking the colored means and emanating through the side openings.

5. A lamp comprising:

(a) a reflector,

(b) a concentrated light source mounted in front of the reflector,

(c) a lens covering the reflector,

(d) an elongate, opaque tubular element having an open end, and the tubular element extending from the lens to in front of the light source, the light source being located at the open end of the tubular element, and the tubular element being provided with side openings, and

(e) a colored means in the interior of the tubular element to provide a difliused colored glow from the periphery of the tubular element resulting from the direct rays of the light source striking the colored means and emanating through the side openings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,270,972 7/1918 Rotfy 240-41.4 X 1,712,027 5/1929 Cooke 313l1l 1,874,086 8/1932 Dickson 24041.4

JAMES W. LAWRENCE, Primary Examiner.

DAVID J. GALVIN, Examiner.

P. C. DEMEO, Assistant Examiner. 

